Now that he's managed to successfully run 10 kilometres in full firefighter gear, Olds resident Noel D'arcy is looking at running at least a half-marathon in full gear.
And if he's successful in that half-marathon, there's a chance he may try running a full marathon (42.2 kilometres) with all that stuff on in the hope of setting a new Guinness World Record for the fastest marathon in full firefighter gear.
He's also considering running a marathon while pushing his daughter in a baby stroller.
D'arcy is a volunteer firefighter with the Olds Fire Department. He says he's running with their full support.
During the Scotiabank Calgary Marathon on May 26, D'arcy ran 10 kilometres in full firefighter gear — including face mask and helmet, and breathing air via a cylinder on his back. In the process, he used up four air cylinders, stopping each time so the empty and full cylinders could be exchanged.
It took him one hour, 21 minutes and 51 seconds to complete the run. D'arcy says full firefighter gear — including an air cylinder and its pack — weighs at least 55 pounds.
A friend rode a bike behind him, carrying extra air cylinders in a baby carrier.
"It's kind of one of those things that it was kind of a dry run to see how it would go and yeah, I got it done in the 10-K distance. Eventually my plan is to do it in half-marathon distance," D'arcy said during an interview with the Albertan.
"That's the furthest I've ever run with that setup — with on-air and with my fire gear, my helmet and all that. So this was kind of just a gauge for me to see, like, is this going to be absolute torture? Am I going to not finish this?"
He said Guinness World Records officials don't recognize 10-K runs.
D'arcy began running at 7:30 a.m.
"The 10 kilometres went pretty well," he said.
"I mean, realistically, if I could have sustained what I was doing I would have probably done it (a half marathon) in about two hours and 40 minutes.
"But you know, I can't really predict what would have happened over the next 10, 11 kilometres if I was doing that, right? So doing it for 10 kilometres, everything went to plan.
"Typically in most of these races, no one is allowed on the course other than runners, right? You don't want people flying around on bicycles and stuff like that so I had special permission to have someone on the course following me with these cylinders."
In 2016, D'arcy ran the Calgary marathon in a bid to set a Guinness World Record for running that distance in full firefighter gear. However, the firefighter boots chafed him. Of course, they're not designed to be worn while running a marathon.
"I actually still have the same boots but I kind of put on different socks underneath. I still have a little bit of blistering on my right heel so that kind of came into play a little bit," he admitted.
Aside from that, he said the main difference between his 2016 experience and this year's run is the shorter distance and the fact he ran this race while wearing the air cylinders.
D'arcy discovered a few problems when his run ended.
"What I found afterwards when I finally got off air, my throat was extremely dry. It was almost like I had a sore throat, because all it is, it's dry, compressed air that's in these cylinders," he said. "We usually breathe it for short periods. I breathed it continuously for an hour and 21 minutes."
Also, the pack containing the bottles was extremely hard on his shoulders.
"The (cylinder) pack (alone) weighs about 25 pounds, and every time — you know, you're trying to run — it just bounces up and down and it's impacting your shoulders," D'arcy said, adding that when he got out of bed the next morning, his shoulders were "extremely stiff."
"I think the lesson from that is I'm probably going to have to hit the gym and work on shoulder strength, just to kind of maybe help alleviate some of that," he said.
May 26 was a pretty warm day. D'arcy was asked if he got too hot with all that gear on.
He said that wasn't a problem when the run began because at 7:30 a.m. it was around 5 degrees. But it did get a lot warmer later on.
"Towards the end, yes, it was starting to heat up pretty good," D'arcy said. "I mean, I was able to kind of manage that just with some water. I poured some water down my jacket and stuff like that and that kind of kept me cool.
"For the whole hour and 20 minutes, I didn't drink any water, because I didn't want to unmask. I wanted to just keep the mask on and just get it over with," he said.
D'arcy said if he decides to run a half-marathon in full firefighter gear, that'll either happen this year in Edmonton or next year in Calgary.
"I'm not going to rush into it," he said. "I'm trying to decide what is going to be the perfect place to do it, the perfect time of year to do it.
"There's pros and cons with both. Edmonton's a nice, flat course, but it's also (in) the middle of August, which is pretty hot. And Calgary next year, I'm very familiar with the course."
D'arcy was asked if he would try running a full marathon in all his gear if he does well in the half marathon.
"Yeah, it's possible. If I'm still alive," he said with a laugh.
Meanwhile, D'arcy is looking at running a marathon with his daughter in a baby stroller "for a good workout."
"Pushing a 30-, 40-pound stroller in front of you as well is a challenge, right?"
